Chapter 12: The First Steps to Gold
The morning light crept in through the slats of the wooden shutters, casting bars of soft amber across the dusty floor of Eren's cramped farmhouse. The air carried that distinct countryside aroma—a blend of soil, dew, and freedom tinged with cow manure. Eren lay still, eyes half-open, arms folded behind his head, thinking about his unfortunate reincarnation.
"I didn't sell my soul to capitalism back in Korea just to end up poor in a pixelated hentai purgatory," he grumbled.
He sat up, rubbing the crust of sleep from his eyes, and looked over at the far corner of the room. Lira, his ever-silent robotic guide, stood in sleep mode. Her humanoid body, clad in that sleek, vaguely inappropriate outfit that screamed 'developer fanservice', remained eerily still. There was no breathing. No blinking. Just the low, ambient hum of energy.
"Creepy doll," Eren muttered, rolling off the straw mattress. "But you're all I've got."
[Daily Quest: Water 40 vegetable crops] [Reward: 550 Coins, +0.2 Stamina Regeneration]
"Oh, we're starting the grind early today, huh?" he mumbled at the pop-up that appeared in his vision.
He washed up using the metal basin and a cloth that had definitely seen better centuries, splashed some cold water on his face, then stepped outside.
Dawn spread across the countryside like melted gold. His farmland—three short rows of vegetables—waited silently, promising hard-earned coins and back pain. Every sprout felt like a micro-investment. And unlike crypto, these ones wouldn't disappear overnight.
He picked up the wooden watering can, still heavy from yesterday's refill, and began. Left to right. Turnips, carrots, and his newest experimental crop: cabbage.
The silence of the morning was shattered by Lira's activation chime.
"Good morning, Eren," she said, voice calm and artificial. "Your watering efficiency is currently operating at 73.2%. Angling the can 14 degrees—"